Newsstand: September 23, 2013

The good news: it's not raining. The bad news: it's cold. In the non-weather-related news: the feds promise money for the Scarborough subway, a Trump Tower unit generates very little interest, motorcycle drivers might soon be paying for parking, and the Leafs get scrappy.

Ottawa will help cover the costs of the much-debated Scarborough subway extension, Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged on the weekend. Harper joined Mayor Rob Ford at a meeting, billed as a photo op, to promise federal support for the subway extension—there are no details yet on how much money that support will involve, or on what conditions will be attached to the funding. “[Finance Minister Jim Flaherty] and I, subject of course to the normal approvals process, have set aside funds to ensure the financing of Toronto’s plan for the Scarborough subway extension,” Harper said. Further details are expected today.

Things are looking increasingly bleak for Toronto’s troubled Trump Tower. The latest confidence blow? Just a single bid was placed on a residential unit up for auction in the building this weekend—and it was below the minimum. Ritchies Auctioneers will take the $550,000 bid to the seller of the unit; similar units in the building are currently listed by the developer at $1.6 million. Makes Toronto rents look cheap, for once.

Motorcycle and scooter drivers in Toronto may soon find their free ride on parking coming to an end. The City’s transportation staff are considering a proposal to end free parking for scooters and motorcycles at meters and machines, and council will consider the matter at a meeting on October 8. Requiring motorcycles to pay between 25 and 50 per cent of the regular hourly rate to park in specialized parking spots would generate up to $250,000 each year, a City report stated.

Apparently, Sunday night’s also all right for fighting. The Toronto Maple Leafs met the Buffalo Sabres in a pre-season hockey game last night, and things got somewhat messy. Leaf Phil Kessel got into it with Sabre John Scott, Toronto’s David Clarkson earned himself a ten-game suspension for coming off to bench to join his teammate, and the goalies eventually joined the fracas. Fortunately, Kessel took a break from throwing punches to score two goals, and the boys in blue won 5-3.